'Unpopularity' of estate agents grows

Posted: 14 May 2007 09:59:49 GMT

Estate agents have never been as unpopular as they are today, according to a new survey from The Ombudsman for Estate Agents, reports the Press Association.

Estate agents have never been as unpopular as they are today, according to a new survey from The Ombudsman for Estate Agents, reports the Press Association.

During 2006, it received over 8,000 complaints from customers who were unhappy with the service being provided, an increase from 6,021 the year before.

Moreover, almost two-thirds of consumers do not trust estate agents.
Of those surveyed, 43 per cent said that they believed estate agents were overpaid for the jobs they carried out.

Chris Hamer, estate agent ombudsman, said that people were becoming less prone to simply ignoring poor service and more likely to make a complaint.

He said: "I think possibly it's down to people being less ready to be satisfied with something which they perceived as poor service - given the size of the financial commitment that they're taking on by buying a house."

Overall, 64 per cent did not trust estate agents and 77 per cent of these thought the service provider was driven more by profit than the consumer need.

An independent service, the ombudsman aims to settle any disputes between its members and the public.

The survey was commissioned by YouGov.

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